Local organizations are discussing requesting the Minnesota Legislature to defer the distribution of Destination Medical Center funding until Mayo Clinic changes its approach to rural health care.

Albert Lea-Save Our Hospital member Paul Overgaard said Tuesday after a Freeborn County Board of Commissioners meeting he will discuss the plan with the organization’s steering committee Sunday before possible approval by the group. The measure could then be addressed by the Board of Commissioners before possibly being sent to legislators at the Capitol.

“It’s so disgusting,” Overgaard said. “They (Mayo Clinic) have not come and talked to us as a community … they need to recognize that we aren’t stakeholders necessarily, but we as a community have a vital interest.”

Since the transition was announced in June, apprehension has been expressed locally over the DMC project in lieu of cutbacks in inpatient services in smaller communities.

A total of $585 million was allocated for the project: $424 million from the state, $128 million from the city of Rochester and $33 million from Olmsted County.

State funding for the project was approved in 2013. The 20-year, $5.6 billion project is described as the largest economic development initiative in state history.

The plan is billed as a public-private partnership, combining private development by Mayo Clinic and other developers, as well as public funding to facilitate and support public infrastructure.

District 27A Rep. Peggy Bennett said though she understands local anger surrounding Mayo Clinic Health System’s decision to transfer services and is open to approaches to address the issue, she stated the community needs to ensure organizations outside the sphere of Mayo Clinic are not negatively impacted by legislation.

To suddenly make changes to the legislation after entities have invested money in the plan could cause “significant issues for non-Mayo entities,” Bennett said.

She stated she is in the beginning stages of looking into whether some DMC funding could be allocated to communities that are losing inpatient services, such as Albert Lea.

During Tuesday’s Freeborn County board meeting, commissioners Glen Mathiason and Dan Belshan expressed support for the resolution, stating their belief that the possibility of financial losses could make Mayo Clinic reconsider its decision to transfer most inpatient services to Austin.

District 3 Commissioner Jim Nelson suggested an outside lawyer be hired to speak on national news broadcasts, bringing potentially damaging attention to Mayo Clinic.

During the meeting, Freeborn County Attorney David Walker expressed doubt legislators would vote to defer DMC funding but said local governments could pass resolutions requesting the state Legislature does so.

Overgaard discussed his review of documents pertaining to the consolidation of Naeve Hospital and Mayo Clinic Health System in the 1990s, stating the hospital system had not met its obligations pertaining to operating in the best interest of local communities.

“They’ve clearly evaded those,” he said.

Though Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson and others have said Mayo Clinic does not have an obligation to furnish documents regarding the transition, Overgaard said he is pursuing the information and questioned why the hospital system is not providing them.

“If they were acting in good faith, why won’t they say, ‘Yeah, here it is,’” he said.

The Save Our Hospital organization is evaluating its next steps after last week’s announcement by health care consultant Quorum Health Services LLC. that Albert Lea can host a profitable full-service, acute-care hospital.

Save Our Hospital co-chairwoman Mariah Lynne said Tuesday during a public forum at the commissioner’s meeting she is reaching out to businesses in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota to gather feedback about the impacts the transition is having on businesses.

Save Our Hospital member Al Arends said a health care shortage in Freeborn County must be addressed. Seven of the 14 cities and eight of 20 townships in Freeborn County are designated as medically underserved areas.

Overgaard said he hopes efforts to evaluate DMC funding could eliminate the secrecy of the hospital system.

“I’m confident that it will disturb the secrecy of Mayo, and I think if these things continue to pile up, they’ve got to somehow figure out, ‘How can we stop this?” he said. “‘What can we do to stop this? What they can do to stop it is to show we are important to them.’”